Rintal had just reached the castle gates when the fog split in two — and he saw Areday fighting a woman.

  The woman wore black armor, the emblem of the Sons of the Dawn engraved on her chestplate — but reversed, as if the dawn itself had turned into darkness. A hood was pulled tight over her head; freckles marked her sun-tanned face beneath her brown eyes.

  She was slim, fast, and agile — equal in height to Rintal and Areday — and fought with two daggers, with such precision and cold-blooded calm that only a seasoned assassin could possess.

  Areday could barely stand anymore. His bleeding wounds nearly made him collapse when the woman prepared for the final strike. She aimed for his throat — fast and merciless, as if she had done this a hundred times before.

  At that moment, Rintal’s seal flared.

  Power surged through him and hurled his body forward like a lightning strike. In the blink of an eye, he threw himself between them, grabbed the woman’s arm, and raised his blade to finish her — to end the fight with a single move.

  But the woman — Cassadee — was faster than he thought.

  Surprised, yet instantly reacting, she spun, freed her arm, leapt back, and landed gracefully on her feet. Areday sank to his knees in pain.

  “My twin… get up,” Rintal said quietly but firmly. “Everything will be fine.”

  Areday smiled bitterly. “Didn’t expect anything less… Cassadee won’t stand a chance.”

  Cassadee laughed, her voice sharp as a blade, dripping with mockery.“Two pathetic thieves think they can stop me? You have no idea what you’re playing with. I don’t care about you… I only want the relic.”

  Rintal tightened his fingers around the dagger’s hilt.“I can’t give it to you,” he said softly but firmly. “It’s probably… bound to me.”

  Areday stared at him in shock.“What? Then… the legends about it are true?”

  Cassadee’s eyes narrowed.“If that’s true, then you’re already the devil’s servant. You’ll die here and now… or come with us. Only our leader can control that orb — and only he can take it from you. Him… and the devil’s son himself.”

  “Don’t trust her!” Areday growled, trying to stand. “The Sons of the Dawn are abominations… born mutated, rejected by the world. They became assassins because they had no other choice. Creatures like them are hunted wherever they go. Every word they speak is a lie. They’ll do anything to survive.”

  Rintal answered quietly, bitterly:“Just like us… my twin.”

  Cassadee’s voice dropped, cold and metallic.“Then there is no other path… only death.”

  The seal’s light flared on Rintal’s palm.“If that’s the only way… so be it. But tell me — how could the devil’s son ever find me?”

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  Cassadee almost whispered:“Because he walks among us. Half human, half demon. He craves his father… and maybe he’s already here. Watching you.”

  The air froze. Ash stopped midair, as if time itself held its breath.

  Cassadee spoke again, her voice cracking with pain.“Tell me, Rintal… what happened to Loran?”

  “I killed him,” Rintal answered coldly.

  Her face went pale. Her eyes filled with sorrow.“He was my dearest love…” she whispered. “I will avenge your death, my love.”

  She raised her blades.“I will take the orb from you… and bury the past along with your bodies.”

  “The Sons of the Dawn never leave witnesses,” Areday growled. “That’s what everyone says — those who lived long enough to tell.”

  “And that’s what you planned with Loran too,” he shouted at Rintal. “That’s why he went after you. Precise cuts. Clean work. No witnesses left. The werewolves — that was you too, Cassadee?”

  She laughed coldly.“No. I only killed the phantoms — after your little thief friend broke his chains.”

  The wind howled. Ash whirled around them.

  “Enough talking!” Cassadee snarled. “Let me avenge my husband’s death!”

  The three figures faced each other in the fog. The seal glowed. The wind roared. Ash spiraled.

  The seal spoke a single word — metallic and absolute:“Kill.”

  Silence fell. Even the fog withdrew.

  Cassadee’s daggers flashed — two venomous arcs aimed straight for Areday’s throat.

  Rintal moved faster than thought. The seal ignited — the reflection.

  Reality itself seized the arc of her strike and turned it back. The blade’s path twisted in slow motion, her own momentum rebounding against her.

  Metal thundered. The world seemed to stretch.

  Rintal used the same leap he had once used on the bridge — not a step, but a violent burst. A blue, sparkling trail followed him as he crossed the distance.

  He appeared before her in an instant — blade aimed at her neck.

  Surprise flickered across Cassadee’s face — but only for a heartbeat. She twisted, tore her weapon free. Steel screamed.

  Rintal felt the seal burn through muscle and bone — magic and flesh merged.

  She broke the clash, spun away, attacked again — tactical, ruthless. The fog filled with broken lines of steel.

  Areday watched from the ground, pride and anguish fighting in his gaze.

  Without words, Rintal reached back and grasped his arm. A steady pulse of the seal flowed into Areday, keeping him from collapsing.

  Cassadee surrounded herself with a glowing ring of ash. Her daggers dimmed.

  She attacked like her husband had — hungry, predatory. A knee strike slammed into Rintal. Pain exploded.

  But the reflection answered again. Her own force betrayed her — balance lost, movement broken.

  Rintal gathered everything. The fog froze. The air hardened.

  A charged impulse hurled him forward.

  Too fast.

  Cassadee tried to defend — her motion reversed. She fell.

  Rintal stomped down on her spine. It broke.

  Daggers hit the dirt. Blood pooled beneath trembling fingers.

  The seal faded slowly, like a dying ember.

  Areday rose unsteadily, disbelief in his eyes.

  Cassadee crawled — then stood.“Impossible,” Areday whispered.

  She laughed, hoarse and broken. Tattoos along her arm glowed.“My wounds are healing. There won’t be any more surprises now.”

  “Areday, stay behind me,” Rintal said.

  “Got it, my twin…”

  “This isn’t over,” Cassadee hissed. “My vengeance will be fulfilled. And you two… will disappear.”

  She charged.

  The ground exploded beneath them. Earth flew in all directions.

  A massive wolf burst forth — the one Rintal had faced before. The pack leader.

  It lunged at Cassadee, growling words that echoed through the fog:

  “Devour.Evolve.Grow stronger.”